1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a probe for an in-circuit emulator, more particularly to an improved connecting element in the probe for an in-circuit emulator for connecting the probe for an in-circuit emulator with an LSI package of a leadless chip carrier or a pingrid array and the like.
2. Description of Prior Art:
An in-circuit emulator is an emulating device for substituting a part of the circuit to be mounted on an actual device for another circuit system. There is a case to use a flexible substrate as a probe for the in-circuit emulator to match an LSI package of a leadless chip carrier or a pingrid array.
A conventional probe for the in-circuit emulator using a flexible substrate is described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a conventional probe comprising a flexible substrate 1 having a pattern 4 formed thereon, a connector 2 for connecting the flexible substrate 1 with an in-circuit emulator (not shown), and a connecting element 3 where an LSI package mounted on the actual device is detached therefrom and attached thereto and the detachment and attachment is repeatedly effected.
FIG. 5 shows a schematic structural view of a conventional connecting element 3 in which the substrate 1 composed of an upper substrate 9 and lower substrate 10 is mounted on a base 8. The number of conductors in the flexible substrate is regulated according to the number of pins of the LSI package. There are LSI packages having 100 to 150 pins among the available LSI package. Only one substrate 1 does not match all such LSI packages so that a plurality of flexible substrates are required. Pins 5 for connecting the LSI package are connected with the flexible substrates 9, 10 via a land pattern 8A provided on the base 8 and a land pattern 8B provided on the flexible substrate 9 as shown in FIG. 6 which is an enlarged sectional view of the connecting state in FIG. 5. Inasmuch as an area of the base 8 is smaller than that of the flexible substrate 9, illustrated later in FIG. 2, there is a problem that a design of the pattern is greatly limited. As described above, although the flexible substrates 9 and 10 are fixedly mounted on the base 8 by the band 6, the flexible substrates are not completely fixed but liable to be loosened to be deformed. A stress produced by the deformation is liable to be focused at a solder 7, and the flexible substrates 9, 10 and the patterns respectively on the flexible substrates respectively around the soldered portion 7. Therefore, the portion to be soldered is liable to be broken when the connecting element 3 is repeatedly attached to or detached from the LSI packages. There is another problem according to the prior art that a facility to effect a reflow of solder between the flexible substrates 9, 10 and the base 8 is required.